Hockey East Foes Invade Kelley Rink

It's rivalry weekend at Kelley Rink.

Boasting a No. 2 ranking and a 6-1-0 record in Hockey East play, the Boston College men's hockey team will play host to two familiar foes this weekend, facing off against Northeastern on Friday before a rare Sunday game against their Comm. Ave rivals from Boston University.

With two Beanpot foes invading Chestnut Hill this weekend, there is much more than four points in Hockey Easy on the line. Head coach Jerry York admitted that the atmosphere at practices this week have a new kind of energy and excitement, and discussed the thrill of playing two long-time rivals in the span of three days.

"There's no doubt it has been ramped up at practice," York said. "These are historic rivals. There's always a lot of interest in these games because of the proximity of our schools and the fact that they are league games. There's a lot of excitement around the locker room and I think it's going to be a really fun weekend."

The Eagles open the weekend with their second meeting of the season with Northeastern. The Huskies forced overtime against BC in the last meeting between the teams, on Oct. 22, before Bill Arnold sent the Eagles home winners. The Huskies have struggled recently and are just 1-5-2 overall and are winless in their last five outings. However, the teams they have played in that span are all currently near the top of Hockey East, and York refuses to look past Friday's game against the Huskies.

"We saw some different things out of them than we're used to last time," he said. "They've got a new coaching staff, a new system, and they took us right to the wire. It's really fresh in our mind how difficult it was to win that game. Their student body was electric that night, and now we're going to get that here on Friday. The venue plays such a huge role in these close series, and we expect a big home crowd there on Friday night."

BC will then welcome the Terriers for their first meeting of the season. The Eagles managed to sweep their rivals from BU last season, posting a 4-0 record that included a memorable Beanpot victory. This year's team from down the Green Line has struggled a bit out of the gate, losing early in the season at Providence and again last weekend in humiliating fashion, 7-1, at UMass Lowell. The Terriers are currently ranked No. 16, but York knows just how much potential they possess.

"They should be a very good team," York said. "They were picked second in our division and in the top five or six nationally, so we're not fooled by the fact that they've stumbled recently. They're an excellent hockey team, and our rivalry with them is the best in college hockey. That rivalry will surface here Sunday afternoon."

The Eagles are themselves coming off a somewhat disappointing 4-2 loss at the hands of UMass Amherst and looking to bounce back. They have not lost back-to-back games since Jan. 22-23, 2010 when they lost to BU and UMass Lowell. That loss to BU was also the last time the Eagles were defeated by the Terriers, putting the streak at an impressive 665 days.

BC will still be without the services of defenseman Patrick Wey and freshman Danny Linell, as both are recovering from injuries that will likely keep them out for the foreseeable future. Brooks Dyroff has been filling in on the blue line for Wey while Patrick Brown seems to have worked his way back into the lineup in Linell's absence.